On The Open Road

It is on the open road that the GT is in its element. Frankly, there are few better cars than our home-grown V8 performance sedans when it comes to effortlessly loping along a country road. Thanks to its ongoing development program, the long-stroke 5.4-litre Boss V8 is happier to rev than at any time in its past. The useable revs ceiling has been increased from 6,000rpm to 6,500rpm, in addition to a slightly higher compression ratio, revised camshaft timing, higher-lift cam profiles as well as improvements to air flow and volumetric efficiency. This explains the increase in power from 290kW to 315kW.

The result is a crisper, smoother response to throttle inputs. It’s also quicker than before, although it’s hard to pick from behind the wheel - the extra urgency is largely masked by the Boss’s improved manners. You do need some revs on board to get the best out of the Boss however. From idle, there is less torque available than you might expect from a big V8, but it’s a momentary concern, cured with a flex of the right foot.

The GT is quiet on the road, with only minimal tyre roar reaching the cabin, and surprisingly, even the Boss’s exhaust note is subdued, a fact that bothered more than one TMR tester. However, it’s not all bad news. Sink the boot in, keep the revs up and the Boss will reward you with a sonorous V8 bellow that fills the cabin. Oddly, for those standing on the side of the road it sounds less inspiring, even full throttle drive-bys sound better inside the GT than out.

Adding to the GT experience is its particularly decent on-road manners. The GT’s new virtual pivot front-end, revised multi-link rear and Sachs monotube dampers provide a ride that is almost plush.

Well-tuned monotube dampers can transform a car, and the GT is no exception. FPV has settled on some particularly effective damper settings, endowing the GT with a ride that is supple yet nicely-controlled in the vast majority of situations. Despite running 19-inch wheels and low profile Dunlop Sport Maxx rubber, the only time the suspension was ruffled was when trundling around at low speed on patchy suburban bitumen. For the greater part of our time behind the wheel there was little to find fault with.

An hour out of Melbourne along the Hume saw the outside temperature begin to rise rapidly and eventually settle on 46 degrees as we turned off the main drag and headed into Benalla to fuel-up. It was hellishly hot and a long way from being an ideal day to be road testing a car.

Fuelled up, we headed east, stopping for a brief and somewhat heat-soaked photo session around Lake Nillahcootie, before heading through to the township of Jamieson in the foothills of the ranges. Taking advice from the local garage owner, FPV and Ford enthusiast Scotty, we headed up to a quiet section of blacktop that wound its way up into the ranges and let the GT off the leash.

Through The Hills

For a car that weighs in at a portly 1852 kg, the GT is more than capable of carving up the corners, but it’s not without its quirks. That big cast-iron block Boss, sitting high in the engine bay, subtly dominates the way the GT goes about its business.

FPV’s suspension tuners have largely tamed the beast, but you can still sense the weight giving those Sachs dampers a good work out. Turn-in is superb, steering feel predictable and while it’s not razor sharp, it allows you to point the GT cleanly and accurately.

The big Brembos (six-pots up front on the 5^th Anniversary remember) are unbreakable. They are well up to the task of hauling up the GT, but you do need to be decisive and smooth. You can unsettle things if you brake too early and have to lift off then on again. Do this, and the momentum shift and the weight of that Boss V8 in the nose can have the front end wallowing a little. Get the braking and the apex nailed, and the GT rewards with predictable power-on driving.

When pressing on, from the wheel you will notice that there is some body roll evident as a side effect of the compliant suspension tune. We found the best way to hustle the GT was by settling it hard into a corner and managing the power delivery on the way through. Get it right and you can give it a shoe-full on exit – for a large car, the GT is commendably well-balanced.

The GT comes with one of the better rear ends in the business and there is plenty of feedback on what the rear rubber is doing. Mid-corner bumps are dispatched with ease, but you’ll hear those big wheels belting into holes or patches of broken black-top.

With 315kW of Boss on-board, it could be argued that the 245/35 rear tyres are too narrow to provide the ideal amount of grip. Punt the GT hard, and on occasions you’ll sense the ESP kicking in, but it won’t necessarily spoil the fun. It’s a well sorted system that goes about its business largely unobtrusively, allowing a good driver to maintain the GT’s balance and momentum.

In short, if the driver desires it, the GT can be ferociously fast. You won’t pass too many cars in a day’s driving that the GT won’t show a clean pair of heels to.